The call to Be you, Bravely is concurrently empowering and intimidating. We get that. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start or identify exactly what is calling our hearts toward doing something brave. If you’re not sure what brave thing to do this year maybe it’s about slowing down to listen to your heart, or maybe it’s about trying out a few things, because sometimes it takes getting involved before we know we’re passionate. For those of you in the second category, we’ll be highlighting organizations doing impactful things in the world with opportunities to dip your toe in, getting involved right from your home. (For those of you in the first category, we hope you’ll follow us along in The Brave Collective and that the journeys of other women will inspire and orient you in your own calling.)
This month, we’re highlighting Free the Girls. This organization collects new and gently used bras to help support women rescued from sex trafficking. Their model is so genius and practical, we can’t help but love them. Plus, Kimba Langas (the lady in charge at Free the Girls) is a former MOPS mom, and she tells a little bit of her story on the Courage to be … Video Stories.
Here’s to brave!
In preparation for my interview with Kimba Langas, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Free the Girls, I decided to do some personal research. Rummaging around in my lingerie drawer, way in the back, I came up with four bras languishing unworn and in good condition. According to Redbook Magazine, the average woman owns nine bras and wears only 6 of them. That means, I’m not the only one with unused bras sitting in the back of my drawer.
Kimba is mom to a seven year old son, as well as an Emmy-award winning producer who loves to tell good stories. As we talked over the phone, Kimba’s voice ignited with passion over the story of Free the Girls.
![](http://www.mops.org/images/cms_images/bralapalooza-and-free-the-girls-1.jpg" /></p>
<p> We spoke about the BRAlapalooza they had a few weeks ago (MOPS sent the super cute feather bra to help support them!), and she told me that CNN did a <a href="http://freethegirls.org/blog/mozambique-or-bust-watch-online/" target="_blank">documentary</a> on their work in Mozambique. Just a couple minutes into the conversation, I was already excited to be chatting with this former MOPS mom who is changing the world.</p>
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<h3>Mikkee: How does Free the Girls work?</h3>
<p>Kimba: Free the Girls is all about economic empowerment for sex-trafficking survivors. The women in the program (in partnership with an aftercare provider) receive the starting inventory of bras as a donation. After they sell their initial inventory, they can purchase more bras at below wholesale value.</p>
<h3>Mikkee: Why bras?</h3>
<p>Kimba: Lots of reasons!</p>
<p>First, it’s good income for these women. Second-hand clothing is a thriving industry in many countries around the world. Bras are usually sought after items. Some of the girls in our program are making 3-5x the minimum wage in their community by selling bras!</p>
<p>Second, it allows them to have a flexible schedule which is important because most of the women we work with were sold into prostitution as children, only 8-10 years old. Because their lives were stolen from them, they missed out on going to school and getting an education. Selling bras allows them to work as much or as little as their school schedule permits.</p>
<p>Plus, bras provide an opportunity for these women to work with other women, since they have a history of being abused and used by men. It is a safe environment.</p>
<h3>Mikkee: Where is Free the Girls currently working?</h3>
<p>Kimba: Free the Girls began its pilot program with three girls in Mozambique in 2011. Today the Mozambique program works with 24 woman, and we recently expanded to Uganda (24 women) and El Salvador (10 women).</p>
<h3>Mikkee: Can you share with our readers some interesting facts about Free the Girls?</h3>
<p>Kimba: Sure!</p>
<ol>
<li>To date, we have collected over 400,000 bras.</li>
<li>The global headquarters is my kitchen table.</li>
<li>We partner with Bra Recyclers in Arizona for the bras that cannot be used (sizing or too old to resell).</li>
<li>Each year we have an annual fundraising gala called <a href="http://freethegirls.org/bralapalooza/" target="_blank">BRAlapalooza</a>. This year we netted over $38,000 at the gala.<i>That would be enough to send 500,000 bras to help women rebuild their lives.</i></li>
</ol>
<h3>Mikkee: That’s a lot of bras! Are the women selling them that quickly?</h3>
<p>Kimba: Here’s a recent <a href="http://freethegirls.org/wp-content/uploads/MozStorageNov2014.jpg" target="_blank">photo</a> of our bra inventory storage unit in Mozambique from November 5, 2014.</p>
<p><img class="center" title="" alt="" src=)
Mikkee: Yikes! You need bras! How can MOPS moms get involved?
Kimba: The great part about Free the Girls is that there are ways to get involved on every scale. If you go to freethegirls.org/get-involved, we have 8 basic ways to help become a part of what we’re doing at Free the Girls.
- Share ourFacebook pagewith your friends
- Send us a gently used bra or two
- Ask friends, family, or coworkers todonate bras
- Host abra driveor fundraiser in your community
- Become afinancial supporter
- Ask a local retailer to become abra drop-off location
- Help connect us with corporations, foundations, churches and service organizations who believe in the cause and can help fund our growth
- Host a Free The Girls information table at a local anti-trafficking event
Mikkee: As a former MOPS mom yourself, what is a piece of wisdom you would share with our moms to Be you, Bravely?
Kimba: You can make a difference where you are, with what you have. Your only qualification is your availability. MOPS moms are so talented. Are you a graphic artist, have a marketing background, an accountant? Non-profits can plug you in with many skills. Your worth is not in doing something big, you can give small amounts of time based on where you are in life.
Mikkee: How did you and Dave Terpstra (Co-Founder & Global Director) come up with Free the Girls?
Kimba: Free the Girls is Dave’s brainchild. He was a pastor for many years before moving to Mozambique. He began to think about ways to help survivors of the sex trade get long-term sustainable income. Dave approached me because of my background in video and asked me to create a piece about the women in safe houses. The whole concept grabbed my heart, and we agreed to be partners. I oversee the US operations side and Dave oversees the international side.
Darling, we want to help support women and moms around the world. How many bras can you send to Free the Girls?
Free the Girls raised enough money at BRAlapalooza to ship 500,000 bras to women who are rebuilding their lives. How amazing would it be if we moms could band together and send in that many bras?
We’re challenging you, nay, we’re daring you to look in the back of your drawer and sort through all those pre-pregnancy, post-pregnancy, middle-of-pregnancy and in-between-sizes bras that were only worn for a short amount of time.
Send some yourself, hold a drive with your MOPS group, pick-up a few at a local thrift store. Then go to the Donation Page on the Free the Girls website to let them know how many to expect. Make sure you indicate MOPS, so we can keep track of how many we raise together.
And then, when you get the chance, check out more about Kimba’s story on the Courage to be … Video Stories.